Inside Ukraine

Cutting Edge Senior Correspondent

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev

Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov says Ukraine cannot be in the European Union and the Russian-led Customs Union at the same time. Shuvalov made the remark after talks between Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov in Moscow.

Earlier, Medvedev urged Azarov to discuss "the legal, organizational, and economic consequences" if Kyiv signs a free-trade agreement with the European Union.

Moscow wants Kyiv to abandon a possible association agreement with the EU and is pushing it to join the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan instead.Read more ..

The Digital Edge

VOA

Large parts of China’s Internet went dark this past weekend as the country came under what the Beijing government is calling the “largest ever” hack attack on Chinese sites.

According to The China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), which “operates and administers country code top level domain of .cn and Chinese domain name system,” the denial of service, or DDoS, attacks started at 2:00 a.m. local time Sunday morning. CNNIC said the initial attack was followed two hours later by a larger attack. Both focused on websites with the .cn extension.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Matthew Prince, the chief executive of CloudFlare, a company that provides Web performance and security services for more than a million websites, said China saw a 32 percent drop in Internet traffic for domains in the company’s network during the two-hour attack. Read more ..

The Battle for Syria

Algemeiner

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday tied reports of a mass chemical attack in Syria to “Iran, and Iran’s proxy, Hezbollah,” who, he said, “are there on the ground playing an active role assisting Syria.”

“Assad’s regime has become a full Iranian client” Netanyahu said, while “Syria has become Iran’s testing ground” to assess the world’s “reaction on the use of chemical weapons.”

Netanyahu said that the tragedy in Syria, where more than 100,000 people have died, was minor compared to what might happen if Iran were allowed to acquire even more deadly weapons.

“This demonstrates, yet again, that we simply cannot allow the world’s most dangerous regimes to acquire the world’s most dangerous weapons. In the end, the extremists use these weapons. So we must prevent them from having these weapons,” he said. “I speak here of course in the context of Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons. Iran must not be allowed to get nuclear weapons. What is happening in Syria, simply demonstrates what will happen if Iran gets even deadlier weapons.” Read more ..

Israel's Next Northern War

Speroforum

Israel’s air forces conducted a raid on a Palestinian terrorist group in Lebanon on August 23, according to official sources, just a few hours after another organization fired four rockets into Israel. An Israeli military spokesman said after the raid, that Israeli aircraft "targeted a terror site located between Beirut and Sidon in response to a barrage of four rockets launched at northern Israel yesterday.” The spokesman confirmed that the pilots scored direct hits.

According to Lebanon's NNA news agency, the Israelis struck a position of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command (PFLP-GC), a hardline militant group which claimed it had nothing to do with the August 22 rocket barrage. It was the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, which is linked to the Al-Qaeda terror organization, that claimed responsibility for the rockets. No Israeli casualties were reported. The Abdullah Azzam Brigades conducted similar rocket attacks in 2009 and 2011.

Israeli Brigadier General Yoav Mordechai said on August 22 that the rockets were "launched by the global jihad terror organization." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened retaliation, saying "Anyone who harms us, or tries to harm us, should know -- we will strike them."Read more ..

The Battle for Syria

VOA

The United Nations secretary-general says the U.N. chemical weapons inspection team that is in Syria must be allowed to quickly visit the site of Wednesday’s alleged poison gas attack. Ban Ki-moon’s office says it has made a formal request to the Syrian government and expects a positive response “without delay.”

U.N. Spokesman Eduardo del Buey said the U.N. chief remains “deeply troubled” by the reports of the government's alleged use of chemical weapons in a Damascus suburb that activists say killed hundreds of people.

“The secretary-general believes that the incidents reported yesterday need to be investigated without delay," he said. "Since yesterday he has been in touch with world leaders on the matter. He has instructed Under-Secretary-General Angela Kane to travel to Damascus.” Read more ..

China on Edge

VOA

China is showcasing this week’s trial of disgraced politician Bo Xilai as part of a larger crackdown on corruption. But political analysts see the trial quite differently. They say that although the case addresses some wrongdoing, the build up to the trial has appeared to be more of a political bargaining game than a true effort to stamp out widespread official graft.

The trial of one of China’s most popular and flamboyant politicians, Bo Xilai, begins early Thursday in the eastern coastal city Jinan. It will be held away from China’s political nerve center of Beijing and far from Bo’s last stronghold, the southern metropolis of Chongqing.

Chinese state media say the trial is part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “high-voltage” crackdown on corruption, and that it shows that no one is above the law. Political analyst Hu Xingdou says a closer look at the charges against Bo tells a different story. Read more ..

Pakistan on Edge

VOA

An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan Tuesday indicted former military leader Pervez Musharraf on charges of conspiring to murder Benazir Bhutto, the country’s iconic politician who was twice elected as prime minister.

The court hearing took place amid extremely tight security in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, where the powerful military is headquartered. Journalists were not allowed in the court room for a hearing that lasted just 20 minutes.

Prosecutor Chaudhry Mohammad Azhar says former President Musharraf was personally present in the court when the judge read out charges to him. He told VOA the former army chief has been charged with murder, conspiracy to murder and facilitating the crime. “Yes, he [Musharraf] did appear himself and he was read over the charge against him. He pleaded not guilty and opted to be tried in the case,” Azhar said. Read more ..

Broken Intelligence

The Hill

Journalist Glenn Greenwald on Monday said the United Kingdom’s nine-hour detention of his partner was “a failed attempt at intimidation” that has hardened his resolve to reveal more secrets about state-sponsored surveillance.

“[I’m going] to write much more aggressively than before,” the reporter told reporters in Rio de Janeiro, according to The Associated Press. “I have many documents about the system of espionage of England, and now my focus will be there, too. I think they’ll regret what they’ve done.”

David Miranda, Greenwald’s partner, who lives with him in Rio de Janeiro, was detained in Heathrow Airport for nine hours Sunday by London police, who used their authority under the U.K.’s Terrorism Act to detain individuals for long periods without making an arrest. Read more ..

The Battle for Egypt

from agencies

There are conflicting reports that anti-military marches planned in Cairo have been cancelled over security fears. Sources said that marches planned at Roxi Square in the Egyptian capital had been cancelled as army snipers had been placed on buildings along the planned route. However, others said marches to the Supreme Constitutional Court building would go ahead. Protesters had been preparing to return to the streets on Sunday following calls for fresh demonstrations against the interim, military-backed government. However, the Brotherhood said there were fears about safety.

Sources had told her that the marches were cancelled due to "presence of army snipers on buildings on the routes". The Brotherhood also cancelled a press conference near Roxi that was planned for Sunday evening. Read more ..

Broken Government

Examiner

In recently obtained documents from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), an "Inside the Beltway" public-interest group reported on Thursday that it discovered that on Feb. 12, 2013, Sarah Gerecke, HUD's assistant secretary for Office of Housing Counseling, may have violated federal law.

According to officials at Judicial Watch, Gerecke requested that more than $200,000 be removed from the coffers of the disbanded Affordable Housing Centers of America (AHCOA), an ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) affiliate, and added to the coffers of HUD intermediary Mission for Peace “to specifically pay for the activities of former AHCOA affiliates.” Read more ..

Broken Economy

VOA

The eurozone has finally emerged from 18 months of recession - posting positive growth after unexpectedly strong consumer spending in the currency bloc’s core economies. Analysts are warning, however, that this is not the end of the euro crisis.

After six consecutive quarters of negative growth, the eurozone is finally recovering. The growth figure of 0.3 percent in the second quarter hardly signals a boom - but it is a milestone, said Daragh Maher, foreign exchange strategist at HSBC in London.

“The very fact that we can talk about growth, politicians can talk about growth, markets can talk about growth again - it’s a significant psychological development,” said Maher. Portugal posted the strongest growth of the quarter - expanding its economy by 1.1 percent. Good news for a country that had been forced to take a $102 billion bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund. Read more ..

The Battle for Syria

from VOA and agencies

A sudden influx of thousands of Syrians have poured into Iraq's Kurdistan region after weeks of fighting between Islamist insurgents and Kurds in northern Syria. A reporter in the northern Iraqi city of Dohuk says about 6,000 Syrian Kurds recently crossed a bridge over the Tigris River into the Kurdistan region. He says at least 1,000 are still waiting at the Syrian border to cross into Iraqi Kurdistan.

Speaking in Geneva Friday, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees spokesman Adrian Edwards says the rush of refugees started when a group of 750 refugees crossed into Peshkhabour in Iraqi Kurdistan on Thursday. Thousands more followed. Read more ..

Nigeria on Edge

VOA

Amnesty International says satellite imagery shows 9,000 people have been forcibly evicted from their homes or businesses in a Lagos, Nigeria slum this year. And while residents told the organization that they were forced to leave at gunpoint, the government says the area was a trash dump.

It is an old story, and it is not just in Nigeria. Poor people build makeshift homes on empty land. When the land becomes valuable they are forced out. Amnesty International says in February of this year, an area known Badia East in Lagos, Nigeria’s biggest city, was demolished with no warning to residents.

The organization's Meghna Abraham said armed officers accompanied construction crews to the demolition, and they told people “If you love your life, move out.” Many of those people, she said, still are homeless and jobless.

“A lot of them had these small businesses and were self-sufficient in the past, but now have lost their sources of income in addition to their homes so are completely dependent on families or friends to give them even basic necessities - clothing, food,” said Abraham. Read more ..

The Edge of Justice

from agencies

Lloyd Khemradj, Julian McKnight and Joshua Reddin--the three teens accused of beating a younger student aboard a Pinellas County school bus made a court appearance Tuesday. A recommendation of court-supervised probation was made for two of the 15-tear-old boys, the Tampa Bay Times reports. Those two boys face "juvenile aggravated battery" charges. A recommendation has not been made yet for the third teen, who faces juvenile aggregated battery and robbery charges.

Meanwhile, the father of one of the three boys made an apology today prior to the court appearance. He "just got mixed [up] with bad people, that’s all … He’s sorry,” said Julian McKnight, according to Fox News. The case has gained national publicity since a video of the beating was released and showed the violence of the incident, which resulted in the 13-year-old victim suffering a broken arm.

The Tampa Bay Times reports that Assistant State Attorney William F. Schopper told the judge: "It's hard to convey what happened in this case without actually seeing the video." He is arguing for a stricter form of probation for the two. The beating apparently was in retaliation against the younger boy for refusing to buy marijuana from two of the three teenage suspects. Read more ..

Iran on Edge

RFE/RL

Many women who helped vote Hassan Rohani into office as Iran's new president did so in the hope that he would push for equality. Yet, when Rohani released his proposed new cabinet on inauguration day on August 4, his list had the makings of an all-male club.

In an apparent response to the criticism that followed from female voters and rights watchers, the cabinet now has its first woman. Elham Aminzadeh, a former conservative lawmaker who reportedly teaches at several universities, has been named vice president for legal affairs.

Rohani said in an August 11 decree that Aminzadeh was given the job because of her "scientific competence" and "legal qualifications" and also for her "moral virtues," Fars reported.

Susan Tahmasebi, a prominent Iranian women's rights activist, welcomed Aminzadeh's appointment as a positive step. Yet she says it still falls short of her expectations for Rohani's presidency.

"It's women's right to have female ministers appointed as well," Tahmasebi says. "[Former Iranian President Mahmud] Ahmadinejad introduced three female ministers, one of whom was actually approved by the parliament. We expected more from Rohani, especially [since] he came in promising to have a positive view on women's issues, whereas Ahmadinejad's presidency, all eight years, was marked with serious setbacks for women." Read more ..

The Edge of Justice

VOA

The Justice Department is taking steps to reduce the number of non-violent drug offenders who face long mandatory prison terms.

U.S. laws dating from the 1980s require long jail terms for anyone convicted of certain drug crimes. But in a speech Monday to the American Bar Association in San Francisco, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said he has ordered prosecutors to make sure minor offenders are not charged with crimes that carry sentences appropriate for drug kingpins. Read more ..

Broken Intelligence

VOA

U.S. lawmakers continue to slam Russia over Moscow's decision to grant temporary asylum to former federal contractor and surveillance program leaker Edward Snowden.

Long gone are the heady days after the collapse of the former Soviet Union, when Washington and Moscow spoke of each other as budding allies in the post-Cold War era.

Sunday, American lawmakers took to the airwaves to heap scorn on the Russian government, and in particular President Vladimir Putin. Republican Senator John McCain spoke on the Fox News Sunday television program.

“He [Putin] is an old KGB colonel that has no illusions about our relationship, does not care about a relationship with the United States, continues to oppress his people, continues to oppress the media, and continues to act in an autocratic and unhelpful fashion," he said. McCain said the Snowden episode signals “incredibly bad relations between the United States and Russia,” adding that President Putin has “put his thumb right in America’s eye.” Read more ..

The Edge of Terrorism

VOA

The United States has ordered the evacuation of its consulate in the eastern Pakistani city Lahore because of what it calls “specific threats.” The State Department also issued a new travel warning urging all U.S. citizens to defer non-essential travel to Pakistan. Meghan Gregonis, spokeswoman for the U.S. embassy in the Pakistan capital Islamabad, said all non-emergency personnel had been evacuated from the consulate in the eastern city Lahore.

"We have received information regarding a threat to our consulate in Lahore, Pakistan. As a precautionary measure we have undertaken a drawdown for all but emergency personnel in Lahore," she said. "We do not have an announcement at this time on when the consulate will reopen. "

​​Gregonis said it was not clear if the threats received against the consulate in Lahore were linked to the al-Qaeda threats that forced the extended closure of 19 US embassies and consulates across the Middle East and Africa. "At this time the threat is localized, and the embassy here in Islamabad and other consulates are scheduled to reopen on Monday after the (Muslim) Eid holiday," she said.Read more ..

Broken Banking

from agencies

Reuters has moved a story which reported that "The U.S. government on Tuesday filed two civil lawsuits against Bank of America that accuse the bank of investor fraud in its sale of $850 million of residential mortgage-backed securities.

The lawsuits are the latest legal headache for the second-largest U.S. bank, which has already agreed to pay in excess of $45 billion to settle disputes stemming from the 2008 financial crisis.

"While most of the cases Bank of America has already confronted pertain to its acquisitions of brokerage Merrill Lynch and home lender Countrywide, the lawsuits filed on Tuesday pertain to mortgages the government said were originated, securitized and sold by Bank of America's legacy businesses."

The US and Russia

VOA

President Barack Obama has canceled a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin that was supposed to take place next month before the G20 summit in Russia.

For a U.S. president who made the "reset" of relations with Russia a major foreign-policy priority, the sharp diplomatic rebuke to Putin marks a pivotal point for his relations with the Russian leader and the overall bilateral relationship.

A White House statement said that after a "careful review" it was determined there was "not enough recent progress" in the bilateral agenda to hold the summit in early September. The statement noted key areas on which Washington and Moscow have cooperated, including the New START [nuclear arms reduction] Treaty, Afghanistan, Iran, and North Korea.

But it said that given the lack of progress on issues such as missile defense and arms control, trade and commercial relations, global security issues and human rights, it would be "more constructive to postpone the summit." Read more ..

The Weather on Edge

VOA

Rescue and relief efforts are underway in Pakistan and Afghanistan after flash floods caused by heavy monsoon rains inundated parts the region. More than 100 people were killed in both countries and preparations are underway for more rains in September, the typical monsoon season.

Monsoon rains over the weekend left a trail of destruction. Dozens of people were killed in the flash floods, some electrocuted by fallen power lines, others crushed as their houses collapsed. Whole villages were washed away and cars swept off the roads in northwest Pakistan. In the southern port city of Karachi, water levels along some streets were waist-high.

Before hitting Pakistan, the storm killed at least 58 people in five Afghan provinces, while an estimated 30 others remain missing. In Kabul's Surobi district, authorities say 34 people were killed in a remote and mountainous area. Read more ..

Broken Intelligence

VOA

As former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden settled into exile somewhere in Russia, the United States ambassador here met Friday with a high-ranking Kremlin aide to discuss “the new status” of the fugitive American leaker.

Ambassador Michael McFaul’s meeting with Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov came as the Kremlin sought to downplay Moscow's granting of one-year asylum status to the American, who is wanted in the U.S. for leaking classified documents detailing massive NSA Internet and telephone data surveillance programs. President Vladimir Putin visited an annual youth camp and fielded questions - on every topic, but Snowden.

While Kremlin officials downplayed the Snowden affair, analysts speculated that the U.S. might cancel a meeting Russia's defense and foreign ministers are set to have next week with their American counterparts. The White House did not say whether this meeting - or President Obama’s summit here with President Putin next month - would be canceled. Read more ..

Egypt's Second Revolution

VOA

Egyptian General Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has emerged as the key leader in the interim military government. The general rose from obscurity, was chosen by then-President Mohamed Morsi to lead the armed forces last year, and went on to unseat him.

To millions of Egyptians, the savior of the nation, the man who ousted President Mohamed Morsi, checked the threat of unbridled Islamism and steered Egypt back to its true path.

Massive banners of the general dominate rallies, as supporters chant his name. Outside a tent in Tahrir square, woodcarver Ali el-Gazzar turned el-Sissi's image into a sculpture.

“Thanks be to God to General el-Sissi,” he said, adding there would have been a civil war if God hadn't wanted him to exterminate terrorism. Since el-Sissi has come to dominate the political landscape, “terrorism" has become a code word for Morsi and his supporters, hunkered down in encampments in Cairo and around the country. Read more ..

Israel Next Northern War

Algemeiner

Further Israeli strikes inside Syria are now expected after American intelligence analysts concluded that a recent attempt to destroy a stockpile of weapons there did not succeed, The New York Times reported on Thursday.

The strike, which allegedly took place July 5th near Latakia, targeted Russian-made anti-ship cruise missiles. While the warehouse containing the missiles was destroyed, American intelligence analysts have concluded that at least some of the Yakhont missiles had been removed from their launchers and moved from the warehouse before the attack.

According to The Times, the Assad government sought to hide the fact that the missiles had been missed by setting fire to launchers and vehicles at the site to create the impression of a devastating blow, according to American intelligence reports. Read more ..

Broken Economy

VOA

U.S. President Barack Obama is proposing a compromise to help break a deadlock with opposition Republicans over his economic plans.

On Tuesday the president went to a giant product distribution center for retailer Amazon.com in the southern city of Chattanooga, Tennessee, to announce his latest proposed “grand bargain” on the U.S. economy.

"So today, I came here to offer a framework that might help break through some of the political logjam in Washington, try to get Congress to start moving on some of these proven ideas," he said.

Obama offered to cut corporate tax rates in exchange for more spending on programs designed to create jobs for the middle class.

"If folks in Washington really want a grand bargain, how about a grand bargain for middle class jobs?" he asked. "How about a grand bargain for middle class jobs?" White House officials have said the president’s proposal will be the first of a series of new economic ideas he will advance in the next few months. He said "serious people" in both parties should accept this deal.

"I am willing to work with Republicans on reforming our corporate tax code, as long as we use the money from transitioning to a simpler tax system for a significant investment in creating middle class jobs," he said. "That's the deal." Read more ..

The Edge of Terrorism

VOA

Security forces have launched a massive manhunt in a city in the northwestern Pakistani province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, where more than 200 prisoners have escaped following an overnight militant assault on a prison.

With Taliban-led violence on the rise, the leader of the province's ruling party has warned Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that Pakistan could lose its anti-terror war unless a national counter-terrorism policy is quickly devised.

Dozens of suspected Taliban fighters armed with bombs and grenades took part in the Monday night raid on the central prison of Dera Ismail Khan, a remote town in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

Eyewitnesses and residents said the attack began with a powerful explosion, which was followed by smaller blasts that blew up electricity lines into the prison and rattled almost every house in the neighborhood. Twelve people, including four policemen, were killed during the attack, which lasted for several hours, according to officials. Read more ..

Egypt's Second Revolution

VOA

In polarized Egypt, protesters in Cairo occupy camps divided by fear and barriers made of brick and barbed wire. The military has threatened supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi with orders to disperse while leaders of his party, the Muslim Brotherhood, are calling for marches on security buildings.

In the hot afternoon, Cairo’s Tahrir Square is nearly empty. This was the epicenter of the 2011 demonstrations, which led to what Egyptians proudly refer to as “The Revolution,” that toppled Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year-reign.

On Friday night, the square was packed with supporters blowing plastic horns as fireworks shot up over the crowds. But now the demonstrators who occupy the square have set up checkpoints on the roads surrounding their camp and some are blocked with sandbags, tires and barbed wire. Read more ..

Broken Government

TheHill

Former Rep. Anthony Weiner’s (D-N.Y.) bid for New York City mayor faced another setback Saturday with reports his campaign manager quit the team.

The New York Times reported that Danny Kedem, the head of Weiner’s campaign, resigned following last week’s disclosures that the candidate had continued sending explicit sexual messages to young women on the internet long after the same revelations forced him to resign his House seat in 2011.

Two campaign aides said Kedem informed Weiner of his decision to leave the team in the last 24 hours. Reports said Kedem had previously worked on a New Haven, Conn. mayoral race and on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential bid. The news is the latest blow to Weiner’s campaign, which once saw him leading in the polls.

Last week, Weiner publicly admitted that he had sent lewd messages to women as recently as last summer using the online alias “Carlos Danger.”

An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showed City Council Speaker Christine Quinn now leading the Democratic primary with 25 percent support to Weiner in second place with 16. Weiner has also faced harsh criticism from fellow Democrats, with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) calling him “disrespectful of women” and his behavior “reprehensible.” Read more ..

Egypt's Second Revolution

Supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi are continuing their protest in the Egyptian capital, despite orders from security forces to end their sit-in and disperse. The situation in Cairo's Nasr City was relatively quiet Sunday morning on July 28, after fighting between security forces and Morsi supporters killed at least 74 people in Cairo and Alexandria since Friday. Around a thousand people have been injured.

Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood movement said on July 27 that police fired into unarmed demonstrators in Nasr City, where members have been camped for weeks demanding his reinstatement. Egyptian officials deny the accusations, saying police only fired tear gas and that pro-Morsi marchers were responsible for the violence.

In Alexandria, Egyptian authorities said people inside a mosque fired shots into the surrounding neighborhood Saturday, while Morsi supporters say gunmen shot into the mosque. Read more ..

Broken Government

The Hill

The odds of a government shutdown this autumn are increasing, with the White House and congressional leaders both digging in.

On Capitol Hill, partisans on both sides of the aisle are demanding that the next federal budget include provisions their political opponents will find objectionable.

Twelve Republican senators — including likely 2016 presidential candidates Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) — have said they will not sign off on any spending bill that includes funding for the president’s signature health care law. And as of Friday, at least 69 House Republicans had signed on to a yet-to-be-sent letter to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) demanding that a continuing resolution defund ObamaCare in its entirety. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), meanwhile, vowed to do “everything within my ability” to oppose a budget that maintains sequester-level spending. Read more ..

Egypt's Second Revolution

An Egyptian judge has ordered the continued detention of ousted President Mohamed Morsi on charges he conspired with the Palestinian militant group Hamas, as the country braces for rival protests on July 26.

The official MENA news agency said Morsi has been detained for 15 days for investigation into the charges. The Islamist leader has been held without charge in secret military detention since July 3, when he was removed by Egypt's army.

Investigators are determining whether Morsi worked with Hamas to help him and dozens of other Islamist leaders escape from prison during the 2011 uprising that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak.

Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood has said local residents helped free the prisoners. But a Cairo court has been investigating whether Morsi collaborated with Hamas to carry out attacks on police stations. It is unclear whether he will face the charges in court. Read more ..

China on Edge

VOA

A court in China has indicted disgraced politician Bo Xilai on charges of corruption and abuse of power. Bo was swept from office more than a year ago following one of China’s biggest political scandals and vanished from the public limelight.

Chinese state media reports say Bo will face charges of abuse of office, accepting bribes and embezzling of massive amounts of public funds.

Reports did not initially specify the amount of funds embezzled, bribes received or any other details about the charges. Reports say the indictment was sent to eastern Shandong province’s capital of Jinan, where the trial will be held. Just how soon the trial will begin is unclear. Legal scholar Yang Xuelin says the court has at least two months to bring Bo to trial.

“From the information released, he has been charged with accepting bribes, a particularly large amount of money and also of corruption, of massive funds. For the charge of misuse of power, the circumstances are especially serious. These three charges are very serious and require a long sentence,” Yang said. Read more ..

Belarus on Edge

RFE/RL

China is pressing ahead with plans to build a vast industrial park in forests outside Minsk, amid growing public anxiety in Belarus.

The $5 billion manufacturing hub, a pet project of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, will specialize in electronics, aircraft-related industry, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnologies.

Dubbed in marketing documents as "a new international city in Eurasia," it will also include research centers, conference halls, a recreation zone, and accommodation for as many as 155,000 people.

Chinese and Belarusian authorities have hailed the future complex as a unique joint venture that will give China its first manufacturing beachhead in Europe while breathing new life into Belarus's deeply depressed economy. Construction work is scheduled to begin in December. Read more ..

Broken Healthcare

The Hill

ObamaCare is at the center of a rapidly escalating fight that threatens to shut the government down this fall.

Senate Republicans, including two members of the leadership, are coalescing around a proposal to block any government funding resolution that includes money for the implementation of the 2010 Affordable Care Act.

But such a move is a nonstarter for President Obama and congressional Democrats. Republicans have tried this maneuver in Obama’s first term, only to back off later to the chagrin of Tea Party leaders.

This time, GOP lawmakers are emboldened by problems plaguing the administration’s ObamaCare implementation. But that zeal could put Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in a tough spot. Both leaders have downplayed previous talk of shuttering the government. Read more ..

The Edge of Justice

Cutting Edge News Correspondent

After a years-long campaign to provide some semblance of justice to approximately 7600 persons who were victimized by a state program that required "undesirable" citizens to be forcibly sterilized, North Carolina has established a $10 million allocation in its new budget that will provide financial compensation to the victims of that program, which ended in 1974.

As a result of laws encouraged by the racial-purity-inspired eugenics movement, a pseudoscience popularized in the early 20th century by powerful groups like the Carnegie Institute and Rockefeller Foundation, persons deemed by the state to be unworthy of reproduction were compelled by force of law to be surgically sterilized.

Typical of those deemed unworthy were the handicapped, mentally impaired, sexually promiscuous, and others whose behaviors or physical characteristics were judged to be detrimental to the purity of the ideal racial characteristics propounded by the eugenics movement. Given the prevailing legal and political climate of the early 20th century, a very disproportionate number of the victims were either poor, black, or both. State Sen. Earlene Parmon and former state representative Larry Womble were at the vanguard of the movement that has tried for years to address the need to compensate financially the survivors that were victimized by North Carolina's Eugenics Board. Read more ..

"What is disturbing is the failure of the security apparatus to act -- which at times looks like collusion -- to protect citizens and their property who are being targeted on the basis of their religion, Ishak Ibrahim of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) told Agence France Presse (AFP). "Copts are paying the price of the inflammatory rhetoric against them coming from some Islamist leaders and supporters of the former president, who accuse Coptic spiritual leaders of conspiring to foment army intervention to remove Dr Morsi." Read more ..

Israel and Palestine

VOA

The Middle East peace process is getting a long-awaited boost, after a visit to the region by the American Secretary of State. The deal could give freedom for some Palestinian prisoners.

Israel has agreed to release Palestinian prisoners as part of a framework agreement to renew peace talks brokered by the United States.

Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz said some Palestinians involved in terrorist attacks and jailed for more than 20 years would be freed.

At the same time, Steinitz told Israel Radio that his government did not agree to other key Palestinian demands, such as a freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank and disputed East Jerusalem. The settlement issue had led to a four-year deadlock in the peace process. Secretary of State John Kerry announced the deal late Friday in Amman, Jordan after four days of marathon talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and officials from the Arab League. Read more ..

The Edge of Terrorism

World Jewish Daily

The IDF has deployed an Iron Dome battery near Eilat to guard against rocket attacks from Sinai as the Egyptian army prepares for a large-scale operation to rout out Islamist terror cells. Last weekend, several rockets were reportedly fired at Israel's southernmost city after Islamist groups fleeing the Egyptian military hid out in Sinai. After Israel allowed the Egyptian army into the demilitarized Sinai, the IDF has been concerned the terror groups will turn their attention to attacking Eilat. The Iron Dome system has been able to intercept the Qassam rockets and missiles that terrorists have fired on Israel in the past. Two Qassam rockets fired from the Gaza Strip exploded Thursday in an open area in the Eshkol Regional Council. There were no damages or injuries reported.

Earlier this week, the Egyptian army intercepted 19 Grad rockets at a security checkpoint between Suez and Cairo, reportedly heading for Cairo. However, the rockets may have been meant for Gaza. The lawlessness in the Sinai enables terrorists to smuggle arms to Gaza, which have been used to fire on southern Israel.

Israel on Edge

The Jewish Policy Center

The European Union announced new binding rules on Tuesday barring any of its 28 member states from forging agreements with Jewish organizations in the Palestinian territories. Under the guidelines, the EU countries are prohibited from issuing grants, scholarships, and prizes or funding to Israeli organizations operating within the West Bank, Golan Heights, or East Jerusalem.

Despite the outpouring of heated sentiments, the EU's stance against Israel's policies is not especially new. On December 10, the Foreign Affairs Council's conclusions expressed the body's intentions to require EU-Israel contracts to "unequivocally and explicitly indicate their inapplicability to the territories occupied by Israel in 1967," thereby setting the framework for this week's announcement. Tuesday's update serves to strengthen the established position of the European states. It is unknown, however, whether the inclusion of the Golan Heights in the official directive advocates Israeli negotiations with the embattled Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad. Read more ..

Russia on Edge

VOA

A Kirov-based court on Thursday found opposition leader Alexei Navalny guilty of embezzlement and sentenced him to five years in prison.

Russian judge Sergey Blinov convicted the country's leading opposition figure, the country’s first dissident to use the Internet to attain a wide following, of stealing 10,000 tons of timber, estimated at $500,000, from a state company while working as an adviser to a provincial governor in 2009.

Navalny has called the charges politically motivated and said they are intended to silence him. The sentence prevents Navalny, 37, from running in Moscow's September mayoral race, for which he recently registered, and from running for president in 2018. Under a new law, someone convicted of a serious crime, such as major theft, is barred for life from seeking office. Read more ..